Tunnel to Towers Foundation Expands Mission to End Veteran Homelessness on 9/11’s 25th Anniversary

As the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks approaches, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation—formed by the family of fallen FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller—is expanding its mission to tackle veteran homelessness through a new network of dedicated villages.

Stephen Siller Jr., son of the 9/11 hero, explained that these villages differ from traditional shelter environments through the comprehensive support they provide.

“What makes these different is the comprehensive amount of work that’s gone into them—from the base layer of giving these guys the mental health care they need, helping them with addictions, kind of tackling the things that made them homeless in the first place,” Siller Jr. said. “And then giving them an established place to live to get back on their feet.”

One such village is opening on Long Island, repurposing a former credit building that had become a blight on the community. “Now it’s going to be all about great stuff,” he noted, adding that more villages are coming nationwide.

The foundation also announced the “Steel Cross Sea Across America Tour,” featuring actual steel from the World Trade Center gifted to the organization. Siller Jr., who was only nine months old when his father died, said the tour is necessary because many younger Americans—particularly those who didn’t live in New York—don’t fully understand what happened that day.

“I don’t only mean the tragedy,” he said. “I mean the amount of outpouring of beautiful acts—whether it was military service members, first responders who were there on the scene, or the way the country responded in the wake of September 11th, supporting one another, holding one another. That’s really what we want to touch on. Our mission begins with never forget, but it also means we’re never going to forget the actions of all the first responders and military service members on a daily basis.”

Reflecting on his father’s legacy, Siller Jr. described the foundation’s work as an incredible gift. “There are so many families like me that lost a parent in the line of duty—whether through service with the military or as a first responder—and we get to play a role in making sure those kids’ lives got a little bit easier. We really hit the lottery in terms of things we can do with our time here.”

The foundation is also known for its signature Tower Climb event, where participants ascend 102 floors of One World Trade Center to honor first responders who ran into the towers. When asked for advice for first-time climbers, Siller Jr. described the experience as “a little bit of self-induced suffering.”

“That suffering is important because it brings you closer to what happened that day, to those brave men and women who suffered for us, who gave up everything for others,” he said. “It’s just a little bit of work to get to the top, but you understand why you’re doing it by the time you get up there.”